VR Developments Grow Alongside the Metaverse
Emerging Tech Roundup — July 1
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: MIT uses AR to offer help with autism, leading tech companies form the Metaverse Standards Forum, Invisible Cities offers a VR tour of ancient Rome, the University of Tokyo experiments with VR limbs, Siemens and Nvidia plan to develop digital twins, 18Loop brings VR to youth cancer patients, and TikTok tests a new Shop feed.
MIT Research That Utilizes AI for Facial Emotion Recognition Points to Potential Benefits of Augmented Reality for People with Autism
(Auganix, June 21)
People with autism can oftentimes have more difficulty interpreting a sad or happy face based on a frown or a smile, for example, and researchers at MIT think their new technology may be able to assist in interpretation. The technology would be able to exaggerate expressions through AR lenses and prompt users with the suspected emotion exhibited. This way, they can better respond and interact with people around them.
The Metaverse Standards Forum Is Formed, Bringing Together Leading Organizations and Companies to Drive an Open Metaverse
(Auganix, June 22)
On June 22, the Metaverse Standards Forum was launched, with the first few members including Qualcomm Technologies, Meta, Microsoft and other tech leaders. Members of the forum do not have to pay a fee and will work together to implement industry standards around the metaverse space, setting it up for fair governing.
VR Bus Takes Users on a Tour of Ancient Rome
(VR Scout, June 26)
Invisible Cities has developed a 16-passenger, virtual reality experience bus and is offering ticketed tours for €16 per person. Users will experience immersive 3D content and other sensations that allow participants to “capture every bump, turn, and speed” exhibited by the bus. When the bus’s window curtains are closed, passengers will experience a tour of ancient Rome, including audio and scents to make them feel as if they were really there.
Japanese Universities Experiment with VR to Explore the Effects of Extra Limbs
(ScienceDaily, June 27)
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have conducted a study to determine how realistic its “virtual robotic limb system” feels to humans. Participants were given a handful of tasks to complete using the virtual limbs in VR, and even experienced haptic feedback as a part of the technology. After completing the series of tasks, the subjects reported that the limbs felt very realistic and as if they were a part of their body.
The Industrial Metaverse: Siemens and Nvidia Aim to Enhance ‘Digital Twins’ Technology
(SiliconANGLE, June 29)
Siemens AG and Nvidia are working together to create “digital twins’’ that will automate manufacturing processes, allowing for increased productivity. With the use of digital twins, less testing is required. For instance, the technology could be used to weigh out options for a factory floor plan and with its other potential use cases, it is expected to “transform industrial automation.”
18Loop Announces a New Focus on VR Learning for Its Kids with Cancer
(Digital Journal, June 30)
Nonprofit 18Loop is planning to provide care to youth cancer patients with VR, focusing on meditation, stress management, gaming and physical activity. VR has also vastly improved education opportunities for children during their hospital stays, as well as in their homes. By leveraging such a versatile tool, 18Loop finds that across the board, it helps child cancer patients “purposefully pass time in the hospital environment.”
TikTok Tests a Dedicated Shop Feed That Highlights Products You Can Buy Now
(TechCrunch, June 30)
TikTok is currently testing a Shop feed in select regions, where merchants can showcase their products within the app and users can buy products. The feed is searchable, and has an order-tracking section, a coupons section and a payment management section.
